Muskan let out a shaky breath as her heart weighted too heavy inside her chest and she felt like she'd left a huge part of her back there as she now stood in front of her home.

She was back. Leaving behind everything and everyone.... without even a goodbye.... ending it all.

Muskaan....come to mommy....no, she's Daddy's Little Princess....come to Daddy....

The sounds of giggles and laughter of her baby self and her parents echoed in her ears and all those sweet memories played like a movie in front of her eyes as she looked around the house after soo many years.

This was her home...

Tears streamed down her eyes bringing a melancholic smile on her lips. She gripped on the suitcase handle tills her knuckles went white and took 2-3 deep breaths to maintain her composure. She had left everyone behind....she had left her heart and soul behind trapping it into an unbreakable casket.

She had left the love of her life behind.

However, there was no turning back now. So she wiped her face clenching her jaw and raised her chin walking up the threshold of Her Mansion.

"Muskan? Muskaaaan my bachhiiiii!" Her Khala rushed towards the door seeing her and crying overdramaticaly, she threw both her arms around her and did quite a cheap acting.

Muskan just stood still with a poker face on while her eyes roamed around the interior. A lot of things had changed since she last remembered.

"My bacchi is here to save us all!"

She could see both her cousins running out towards her was smiling. It was the first time she was seeing them since all grown up.

Her Khala got back holding her hand.
"Muskan....so... you brought back the power of attorney with you, didn't you?"
She asked carefully.

Muskan just nodded and her Khala let out a breath of relief before again acting over-dramatic and both her cousins were too grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh Alhamdulillah! Our Muskan is our Angel."

Muskan finally looked at her khala's face making her frown confused as Muskan's gaze was directed fixated on her.
"You've changed a lot khala in all those years. U look like a completely different person now." Muskan said nonchalantly.

"Lo...look...what do you mean?" Her Khala forced a smile... anxiety evident on her strained face.

Muskan observed the confused faces of those 3 and then dropped the bomb.
"It means.... I see again."

Jaws dropped and hands flew to thier mouths, eyes bulging out in utter shock and horror was a sight Muskan got to see from her soo called family instead of the happiness she had seen on the people who now no longer could be her family.
"I'm no longer a disabled person Khala, nor am I a weak minor who needs a guardian to look after her or her parents' property..... I'm the true owner of this house now... and so, now I hold the right over the power of attorney of my parents." she announced.

∆∆∆∆
"Oye Muskan, bring me a bag of chips from the kitchen." Her cousin Fiza ordered as she sat in front of the TV.

Muskan just stood there looking at her with a poker expression.

"What? Now that you can see, are you going to keep staring at me. Why? Haven't you seen anyone soo beautiful before?" She mocked.

"I have...many actually." Muskan snapped.

"You!" Fiza glared at her.
"Anyways, just bring me my chips."

Muskan scoffed.
"Are you going to order the owner of this house to run errands for you?"

At this all of Fiza's attitude vanished and she jumped on her two feet.
"N..not at all my dear Muskan. How can I? I'll bring it myself...do you want something too? Hehe...."

"Didi."

"Huh?"

"That's Muskan Didi for you. I'm 2 years older to you or have you forgotten?" Muskan questioned authoritively.

Fiza gulped seeing her scary changed attitude and swallowing her pride she smiled wide showing her teeth.
"Ji Muskan.... Didi." She said with quite difficulty and literally ran towards the kitchen as Muskan's gaze followed her.

∆∆∆∆
Muskan was alone in the kitchen chopping some veggies but her mind was else where.

My bacchi....leave some work for your Zarina ma too. Why are you doing everything yourself? Go and have some fun like Khushi....if you get hurt Rehan will get angry with me....

Butterfly... making something special for me? But I already have this special snack in front of me. Should I just eat you?

Cutie..... I'm hungry! What are you making?

Ah, little sparrow is cooking something delicious again!

Her tears freely on the chopping board and her heart ached again. There was no way should could forget any of them. In such a short time, they had all became a part of her life.... especially....him....
Only God knows how she was even breathing without him.

Her thoughts were interrupted and she quickly wiped her eyes getting back to her work as she heard a sound of whistling getting closer. Without even turning back she knew who it was giving her goosebumps.

"All alone again today Muskan? Don't worry, your bhaijaan will give you company." He cooed standing beside her leaning back to the cabinet watching her with a sinister smirk on his face.

Muskan ignored him continuing her work.

"Ammi and Fiza are out shopping you know... It's just you and me..." He leaned to her ear and whispered.
"Shall we continue where we had stopped that day?"

Muskan's eyes widened as the memories of that day haunted her making her sweat. However, it was also the day when she met....him. So thinking about that day was even more overwhelming making her forget her fear replacing it with pain.

She didn't even flinch when he was slipping his finger tips sensually over her arm from her elbow. She didn't stop him even after reaching her shoulder and his smirk grew and he went further up till her collar bone but now he froze completely and his wide eyes dipped down near his crouch in horror.
Muskan was holding the tip of her knife that was in her hand. He could literally fell the sharp tip piercing his skin right above his....ahem.

"Bhaijaan, you do remember how good I am with knives, even when I was blind right? But now that I can see..." She slightly twisted the blade making him wince, following his gaze down..
"....just imagine how better I must be."

She slowly raised her eyes glaring into his frightened ones and taking pity on him she used the blunt side of her knife to push his hand away and not the sharp side.

"If I can cut such a hard carrot soo easily like this..."
She said sharply swinging the knife from beside her face right at the center of the carrot cutting it in two with a loud noise while her eyes were still on his face which went pale seeing the carrot.
"...then I'm even capable..." she pointed the knife back at his crouch
" ....of cutting a lot of other things."

He gulped stepping away from her.
"Uh... I... I....I was just kidding choti.... I.... I...just remembered some work..." She stammered and ran away for his life.

A silent person suddenly changing thier personality soo abruptly is always shocking and scary afterall.

Next was her Khala,
"Ahh....my back has begun to hurt soo much with all the house work. If only my Muskan could help me with the work like before, I could rest in this old age." She whined holding her back.

"Khala, are you sure your backache isn't due to your increasing weight because of all the rest you'd taken all those years working me off like a slave. Don't worry, pain will go away with your laziness. Or if you find this mansion too big enough to work, your son is very capable right? He can rent a small apartment for you so as to reduce your work." Muskan stated.

Her Khala laughed nervously
"Y... you're right Muskan beta.. I'm just soo lazy. Don't worry, this work is nothing, slowly I'll get used to it and do all the work myself. This mansion is my home too afterall.You do not have to worry about a thing my sweetheart. You just go and rest huh...my beautiful sweet niece. Go now, rest in your room. Your Khala will do all the work nicely." She said showing her teeth.

It had only been a few days but Muskan's changed behaviour was scaring them all off thier wits. It was like she was someone else. Showing no emotion on her face was even nerve-racking as they didn't know what she was thinking. With all the horrible things they'd done to her all those years, Muskan could now easily file a case against them or kick them out of the mansion so they always stayed on thier toes around her now.

However, after a few days, the food that she ate mostly made her nauseous and as soon as she woke up in the morning she would be vomiting and dizzy throughout the day.

Fiza was getting annoyed as her mother kept on forcing her to look after Muskan's needs. She felt like she had to be inferior to the girl she once treated like a slave. So when she brought the lemon sherbet for Muskan to drink who was resting on the bed, Fiza mocked her saying,
"Why are u vomiting? Are you pregnant or something?!"

It was as if the ground slipped from underneath Muskan's feet.

∆∆∆∆
Hours turned to days... days turned to weeks and weeks had turned to months. The house felt empty without thier Muskan. There was no cheerfulness in the atmosphere, no smiles on anyone's faces either. It didn't feel like home at all.

Rehan on the other hand had gone completely crazy. He couldn't think or act straight it was as if, the Rehan everyone knew was lost somewhere. He wouldn't even talk to anyone...not even his own sister who was now 7 months pregnant. Sometimes he would stay locked in his room for days barely eating the food that was sent to his room. As a result, all the work and responsibilities fell on Yasir's shoulders, but he carried them without a complaint. The servants used to tremble when they had to take anything for him to his room. The only time he would eat atleast a bite was when Khushi herself brought it to him. He had even broken all the mirrors in the house as he despised seeing his own reflection even more.... because his butterfly left him because of that. Many times, he even tried to slash his own face that reflected like that of his monstrous father but Khushi used to stop him everytime, crying and begging him and he would stop for her sake.
It would break her heart seeing him like that yet there was nothing she could do for her brother.

She even went to meet Muskan, yet she hardly got a chance to see her face and just by seeing her she could make out how miserable she was too without Rehan.

"Would you push away a pregnant woman from your threshold Muskan?" She would scream from the door but Muskan wouldn't even talk to her. Even Zarina ma was the same.

∆∆∆∆
Rehan looked at the bright full moon in the sky bringing a sad smile on his lips. His butterfly would shine like the moon whenever she smiled for him. His tears fell on the pendant in his hand. It was supposed to tell him where she was so that even if they were apart by any chance, they would still be connected he could run to her. However, even though he knew where she was he couldn't even walk towards her.

The divorce papers were laying on his table for more than 3 months. She had sent them to him signing them but he didn't even had the strength to look at them. He was hollow inside without her.

He couldn't take it anymore and that day he set out to see her.

∆∆∆∆
Climbing through her bedroom window he jumped inside the dark room which was only slightly lit by the moonlight. His eyes roamed around desperately and finally he saw his Butterfly. It was as if a new life flowed into him.

As his delicate butterfly was sleeping on her bed soo peacefully, she looked no less than an Angel. With wobbly feet and his overwhelming heart, he walked towards her sitting on the bed beside her. His heart clenched in his chest as she was soo close to him yet soo far.

The ache in his heart turned into a melancholic smile and he couldn't stop himself from touching her face. Her hand was right there resting on the pillow and he brought his other hand entervining thier fingers together. There was a time when he could hold her soft hands all the time.  He could hear her soft breathing and he leaned down touching his wobbly lips with her soft ones. He soon got back a little but he couldn't stop looking at her beautiful face still hovering over her.

A few heavenly moments passed like that silently until his forehead creased as he noticed tears trickling down the corners of her eyes.

He gently and most carefully wiped them away so as to not wake her as he was afraid of her reaction seeing him. He just wanted time to stop forever.

But,

Her lips parted as his name escaped her lips like a whispery prayer
"Rehan..."

_______________________________

Next chapter tomorrow....

A lot is going to happen in the next chapter, so be prepared.